The Carmelite Fathers’ monastery
Sober, luminous architecture

The influence of Saint Teresa of Jesus turned Alba de Tormes in a centre for spirituality and pilgrimage in which other religious orders also wanted to be present, among them the Discalced Carmelite friars, the male branch of the order born after the reformation that the Saint carried out. The temple belonging to this order’s monastery was built between 1691 and 1695, and it embodies the sober style and the building rules applied to the order’s buildings: austere lines, luminosity, whitewashed walls... This was the first-ever church devoted to Saint John of the Cross, friend and companion of Saint Teresa in her reforming work.

The decoration on the façade takes the shape of a cross, with the Carmel Order’s coat of arms on top; on the sides, two House of Alba coats of arms and at the bottom, the statue of Saint John of the Cross. Inside, the most remarkable features are the frescoes on the pendentives under the dome, and the Saint’s casket.

In a wing beside the monastery is the museum devoted to Saint Teresa and Saint John of the Cross (Museo Teresiano y de San Juan de la Cruz).